iPad Mini: Apple unwraps mini tablet to take on Amazon and Google

Apple unveils its iPad Mini, a smaller version of its phenomenally popular
tablet.

The 7.9 inch iPad Mini, marks Apple's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment.

Apple also announced a fourth-generation full-sized iPad with improvements in graphics and processing speeds, just two days before Microsoft is due to show off its own Surface tablet.

Apple hopes to beat back their charge onto its home turf of consumer electronics hardware, while safeguarding its lead in the larger 10-inch tablet space that even deep-pocketed rivals like Samsung Electronics have found tough to penetrate.

Tuesday's event was held at the opulent California Theater in San Jose.

Amazon's Kindle and Google's Nexus 7 have grabbed a chunk of the lower end of the tablet market and proved demand for a pocket-sized slate exists. That has forced Apple into a space it has avoided and at times derided, analysts say.

A smaller tablet would mark the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under CEO Tim Cook, who took over from co-founder Steve Jobs just before his death.

Wall Street analysts have said for months that Apple was planning a less expensive version of the iPad to take on cheaper competing devices, a move they say might hurt its margins but prevent its rivals from dominating an increasingly important segment.